Mildly negative social encounters reduce physical pain sensitivity

Borsook, Terry K.; MacDonald, Geoff

doi:10.1016/j.pain.2010.07.022

Cited by 38 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…The results of this study are consistent with the notion that even food poverty and inquality can be stressful, in turn provoking a physiological reaction akin to that which occurs upon perception of a physical threat [42] one component of which can be hypoalgesia. Anatomical, pharmacological and behavioral evidence from stressed-induced analgesia studies revealed that amygdale, periaqueductal grey (PAG) and rostral ventromedial medulla (RVM) as critical structures, contribute to descending inhibitory pain pathways and lesions of these structures attenuate the conditioned stressed-induced analgesia response which can be mediated by opioid receptors [38], [42]. Opioids hypoalgesic effects are particularly prominent in inflammatory conditions [43].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

The Effect of Social Stress on Chronic Pain Perception in Female and Male Mice

et al. 2012

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The current investigations on social stress primarily point to the negative health consequences of being in a stressful social hierarchy. The repetitive nature of such stressors seems to affect behavioral response to pain both in rodents and humans. Moreover, a large discrepancy in the possibility of social stresses affecting pain perception in the two genders exists. The present study examined the effect of chronic social stress on nociceptive responses of both sexes by implementing of food deprivation, food intake inequality and unstable social status (cage-mate change every 3 days) for a period of 14 days in 96 Balb/c mice. In this regard we injected 20 µl formalin 2% into the plantar surface of hind paw at the end of stress period and scored pain behaviors of all subjects, then serum concentrations of proinflammatory cytokines were measured. Our results showed that there was significant difference in chronic phase of formalin test following implementation of food deprivation and inequality (P<0.05) as compared to control group, so that pain perception was decreased considerably and this decline in inequality exposed subjects was well above isolated ones (P<0.05); whereas unstable social situation did not affect pain perception. Moreover, IL-1 and IL-6 concentrations in serum of stressed mice of both genders were well above control group (p<0.05). Finally, despite chronic pain perception in control and unstable male subjects was larger than females; the decrease of chronic pain perception in male stressed animals (poverty and inequality experienced subjects) was much more than stressed females. These results revealed that although food deprivation and social inequality can induce hypoalgesia, some socioeconomic situations like social instability don't affect pain sensation, whereas there were similar increases of proinflammatory cytokines level in all socially stressed subjects. In addition, males display larger hypoalgesic responses to inequality as compared with females.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

The Effect of Social Stress on Chronic Pain Perception in Female and Male Mice

et al. 2012

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“…Two studies employed a social partner who interacted with the participant before but was absent during pain induction (Platow et al, 2007; Borsook and MacDonald, 2010). The first investigated whether the effects of reassuring comments depended on in-group or out-group status of the social partner, while Borsook and MacDonald studied socially induced hypoalgesia (reduced pain in the face of a stimulus that is normally perceived as painful; IASP, 1994) by negative vs. positive interpersonal interactions.…”

Section: Results and Their Organizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, reassurance from an in-group member did selectively reduce physiological arousal (Platow et al, 2007). Furthermore, negative interpersonal interactions preceding pain induction were associated with reductions in pain ratings, attributed to social harm induced hypoalgesia (Borsook and MacDonald, 2010). …”

Section: Results and Their Organizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Social Modulation of Pain: Others as Predictive Signals of Salience – a Systematic Review

Krahé

Springer

Weinman

et al. 2013

Front. Hum. Neurosci.

214

194

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Several studies in cognitive neuroscience have investigated the cognitive and affective modulation of pain. By contrast, fewer studies have focused on the social modulation of pain, despite a plethora of relevant clinical findings. Here we present the first review of experimental studies addressing how interpersonal factors, such as the presence, behavior, and spatial proximity of an observer, modulate pain. Based on a systematic literature search, we identified 26 studies on experimentally induced pain that manipulated different interpersonal variables and measured behavioral, physiological, and neural pain-related responses. We observed that the modulation of pain by interpersonal factors depended on (1) the degree to which the social partners were active or were perceived by the participants to possess possibility for action; (2) the degree to which participants could perceive the specific intentions of the social partners; (3) the type of pre-existing relationship between the social partner and the person in pain, and lastly, (4) individual differences in relating to others and coping styles. Based on these findings, we propose that the modulation of pain by social factors can be fruitfully understood in relation to a recent predictive coding model, the free energy framework, particularly as applied to interoception and social cognition. Specifically, we argue that interpersonal interactions during pain may function as social, predictive signals of contextual threat or safety and as such influence the salience of noxious stimuli. The perception of such interpersonal interactions may in turn depend on (a) prior beliefs about interpersonal relating and (b) the certainty or precision by which an interpersonal interaction may predict environmental threat or safety.

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“…They found that when people believed that they would end up alone later in life, their pain threshold and tolerance significantly increased compared to non-rejected people. These findings have since been replicated (Borsook and MacDonald, 2010; Bernstein and Claypool, 2012). This suggests that social pain can cause people to become numb to physical pain, which is likely due to their shared neural substrates.…”

Section: Overlap Of Physical and Social Painmentioning

confidence: 79%

The optimal calibration hypothesis: how life history modulates the brain's social pain network

Chester¹,

Pond²,

Richman³

et al. 2012

Front. Evol. Neurosci.

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A growing body of work demonstrates that the brain responds similarly to physical and social injury. Both experiences are associated with activity in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) and anterior insula. This dual functionality of the dACC and anterior insula underscores the evolutionary importance of maintaining interpersonal bonds. Despite the weight that evolution has placed on social injury, the pain response to social rejection varies substantially across individuals. For example, work from our lab demonstrated that the brain's social pain response is moderated by attachment style: anxious-attachment was associated with greater intensity and avoidant-attachment was associated with less intensity in dACC and insula activation. In an attempt to explain these divergent responses in the social pain network, we propose the optimal calibration hypothesis, which posits variation in social rejection in early life history stages shifts the threshold of an individual's social pain network such that the resulting pain sensitivity will be increased by volatile social rejection and reduced by chronic social rejection. Furthermore, the social pain response may be exacerbated when individuals are rejected by others of particular importance to a given life history stage (e.g., potential mates during young adulthood, parents during infancy and childhood).

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Mildly negative social encounters reduce physical pain sensitivity

Cited by 38 publications

References 39 publications

The Effect of Social Stress on Chronic Pain Perception in Female and Male Mice

The Effect of Social Stress on Chronic Pain Perception in Female and Male Mice

The Social Modulation of Pain: Others as Predictive Signals of Salience – a Systematic Review

The optimal calibration hypothesis: how life history modulates the brain's social pain network

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